Updated: 3:53 p.m. MDT Wed., May 19, 2010
Originally published: 10:00 a.m. MDT Wed., May 19, 2010
by Patrick Thorne with First Tracks!! Online Media staff reports
Kiltarlity, Scotland, UK – Half a dozen ski areas remain open in North America, while it’s currently snowing upon glaciers in the Alps, as eight ski resorts there remain open across three Western European countries. In Northern Europe more areas are opening for summer skiing in Norway, while ski areas in Finland and Scotland remain open, and in Sweden they’re skiing and snowboarding under the midnight sun now that 24-hour daylight has returned above the Arctic Circle.n
North America
There are four ski resorts still open in the western U.S. Mammoth Mountain in California has a 7.5 to 12 -foot (2.3 – 3.6m) base and reports a fresh dusting of snow in the past few days. Mammoth plans to remain open for skiing and riding until July 4. The near-year-round Timberline ski area on Mt. Hood in Oregon has a 148-inch (4.5m) base. Arapahoe Basin in Colorado is looking good with about half of its lifts and terrain open with a 45-inch (112cm) base and yet another three inches (7cm) of new snow in the past few days. Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah just announced today that it will extend its planned closing date, previously announced for May 31, to June 14. The ski area near Salt Lake City is reporting a 117-inch (just under 3m) base and three inches of new snow over the past 48 hours. It is currently open Fridays through Sundays, and a late May powder day remains a possibility as another storm is forecast to impact the Wasatch Mountains this weekend.
In Canada the 2009-10 ski season has finally entered its last week at Sunshine Village near Banff in Alberta. It will close next Monday, May 24th, leaving only Whistler Blackcomb’s glacier skiing remaining open in Canada. Currently nine lifts and 60 runs are operational at Sunshine with a 135cm (4.5-foot) base.
Western Europe
It’s cold on Austria’s glaciers, four of which are currently open for snow sports, following the closure of the Molltal glacier ski area for the season last weekend. Temperatures have been dropping as low as -10ºC (and a max of -5ºC) with fresh snow forecast on the Kaunertal glacier, which has a 90-140cm (three- to five-foot) base and all lifts and slopes open. There are similar conditions on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun, where nine lifts are serving the glacier ski slopes and the accumulated base is 193cm (6.5 feet). It’s -10ºC for the Stubai glacier near Innsbruck, too, which reports 5cm (two inches) of new snow and a 180cm (six-foot) base. However, the Tux glacier probably has the biggest ski area open in the Alps at present with 43.5km of runs, 13 lifts running, a 295cm (10-foot) base and an 1150m skiable vertical (3,773 vertical feet).
In Switzerland you can choose between Engelberg, St Moritz and Zermatt if you want to get on the snow this weekend. Zermatt continues to operate Europe’s highest ski lifts, touching 3,900m (12,795 ft.) and opening up the world’s biggest lift-served summer vertical. Engelberg is in its last few weeks of operation for the season but still has its Ice Flyer six-pack chairlift operating on the glacier, though it does not open for snow sports until 11 a.m. The Diavolezza glacier in the Engadin near St. Moritz is still open and reported fresh snow on the mountain last Friday, although the base remains at 50cm (20 inches) and there’s nothing left at the bottom of the slopes.
There are no ski areas open in France at present and only terrain suited to intermediate and advanced skiers is open in Italy, where one resort remains open for skiing and snowboarding: Passo Tonale. The Presena Glacier is open there with two reds and one black run over on a vertical of nearly 500m (1m640 ft.) between 2600 and 3100m (8,530-10,171 ft.). The snow remains deep here year-round and is still over four meters (13 feet). A second glacier ski area, Passo Stelvio, is due to re-open the weekend after next.
Northern Europe
In Northern Europe the region’s highest ski slopes on Galdhoppigen in Norway (1850m/6,070 ft.) opened for the season over the weekend, and will stay open until October. They join already open Norwegian ski areas Folgefonn and Stryn, putting Norway in third place behind Austria and the U.S. for ski areas currently open.
Over the border in Sweden, Riksgransen is starting it’s brief period of offering skiing under the midnight sun and further East, Ruka in Finland still has slopes open.
In Scotland there was more fresh snow last weekend, and Cairngorm is continuing to open for weekend snow sports. The ski area is using the Ptarmigan and Ciste tows as well as the funicular railway. The slopes are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and tickets are available for the whole day or for three-hour sessions.